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A review by castairs
Laurent and the Beast by K.A. Merikan
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
The beginning was interesting, but it kind of went downhill from there. It had its moments and the overall premise kept me reading until the end, but I wasn't feeling much attachment to the characters. I was also expecting Beast to be wary of Laurent and that Laurent would need to work for it to earn his trust. It was a huge disappointment when Beast started lusting after Laurent and pursuing him mere hours after their first meeting.
These two didn't work well as a couple in my opinion. They were both too tangled up in their personal demons to treat each other with the care the other needed. Also, I can't get over a huge inconsistency towards the beginning of their relationship. Laurent and Beast spend a day at the mall, having and fun and forming a tentative connection. Beast, understandably eager to have some action after nearly ten years of celibacy, gets too far ahead of himself and makes a move on Laurent. When Laurent is hesitant to reciprocate Beast loses it and reacts with unwarranted vitrol. Laurent is put off by this behavior and calls Beast up on his bullshit. So far so good. Then there's a time jump to a week later and, inexplicably, Laurent is longing for Beast even though he hasn't been given anything close to an apology. They both kind of ignore that incident and for some reason Laurent is eager to have sex with Beast because...? I have no idea.
Despite Beast's bad behavior, I really felt for him. My problem is that this man needed to go to therapy, not get involved with a traumatized and confused man fourteen years his junior. I think I would have enjoyed it more if the authors had embraced Beast's darkness and Laurent was into it or something. What I couldn't take is Beast being portrayed as a good and gentle man unfairly accused of violence when he did things like push a man to the floor for being slightly rude to Laurent, making Laurent change pants in front of him to see his ass like a creep or get pissy when Laurent changed his mind about wanting to have sex.
I feel like they were the worst possible match. Laurent's hesitations and worries about having penetrative sex and committing to being Beast's "property" only fueled Beast's insecurities, and Beast's own trauma made him selfish and unreasonable. It doesn't help that both Beast and Laurent weren't the brightest at communicating. Beast should know that he needed to explain the meaning of certain things to Laurent instead of putting him on the spot without clarification and getting pissed off when Laurent didn't like what he was hearing, and Laurent should ask for clarification instead of assuming he knows what's going on.
I don't think Laurent handled certain things so well either. Sometimes he was bratty and immature. I was tempted to DNF when he heard something he didn't like and he "pouted". Beast referred to him as "the boy" several times while they were having sex, which was incredibly off putting, also fixating on his beauty and his small size and innocence. All of it reeked of a stereotypical MF romance dynamic with the pronouns changed.
These two didn't work well as a couple in my opinion. They were both too tangled up in their personal demons to treat each other with the care the other needed. Also, I can't get over a huge inconsistency towards the beginning of their relationship. Laurent and Beast spend a day at the mall, having and fun and forming a tentative connection. Beast, understandably eager to have some action after nearly ten years of celibacy, gets too far ahead of himself and makes a move on Laurent. When Laurent is hesitant to reciprocate Beast loses it and reacts with unwarranted vitrol. Laurent is put off by this behavior and calls Beast up on his bullshit. So far so good. Then there's a time jump to a week later and, inexplicably, Laurent is longing for Beast even though he hasn't been given anything close to an apology. They both kind of ignore that incident and for some reason Laurent is eager to have sex with Beast because...? I have no idea.
Despite Beast's bad behavior, I really felt for him. My problem is that this man needed to go to therapy, not get involved with a traumatized and confused man fourteen years his junior. I think I would have enjoyed it more if the authors had embraced Beast's darkness and Laurent was into it or something. What I couldn't take is Beast being portrayed as a good and gentle man unfairly accused of violence when he did things like push a man to the floor for being slightly rude to Laurent, making Laurent change pants in front of him to see his ass like a creep or get pissy when Laurent changed his mind about wanting to have sex.
I feel like they were the worst possible match. Laurent's hesitations and worries about having penetrative sex and committing to being Beast's "property" only fueled Beast's insecurities, and Beast's own trauma made him selfish and unreasonable. It doesn't help that both Beast and Laurent weren't the brightest at communicating. Beast should know that he needed to explain the meaning of certain things to Laurent instead of putting him on the spot without clarification and getting pissed off when Laurent didn't like what he was hearing, and Laurent should ask for clarification instead of assuming he knows what's going on.
I don't think Laurent handled certain things so well either. Sometimes he was bratty and immature. I was tempted to DNF when he heard something he didn't like and he "pouted". Beast referred to him as "the boy" several times while they were having sex, which was incredibly off putting, also fixating on his beauty and his small size and innocence. All of it reeked of a stereotypical MF romance dynamic with the pronouns changed.